Lazarus

“Lazarus, our brother, has taken sick,
The one you love so very much,”
Said Mary and Martha. “Please come quick,
And heal him with your loving touch.”

"This sickness is not unto death,
But for my glory," spake the Son.
(The things that seem to us the worst
Bring greater vict'ries to be won.)

Jesus did not hurry there,
But, because He loved them so,
(O, the mysterious ways of God)
Stayed where He was; He did not go.

The one beloved had passed away
(Jesus said he was asleep).
At last He went; they met Him there,
With sorrow now so very deep.

"If you'd been sooner, he'd not have died,"
Both wept sorrowfully to the Lord.
But Jesus did not once despair,
Remaining faithful to His word.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life;
Your brother shall arise again.
Believe in me and you shall see
Things not seen before by men."

Then they took Him to the place
Where His stricken friend was kept.
He saw their sorrow, deeply moved;
'Tis recorded that He wept.

("Jesus wept," O wond'rous thought,
That He sees the plight of men;
That He sees and cares so much
For us who had offended Him.)

"Remove the stone," He told them then.
"But Lord, he has been dead so long."
"Only believe and thou shalt see
An end to death, and sin and wrong."

Then in a voice the dead could hear
He cried out "Lazarus, come forth!"
And Lazarus stepped forth from the grave,
And proved the Great Redeemer's worth.

Wrapped hand and foot and head with cloths,
He could not walk nor could he see.
Then rang Jesus' voice again -
"Unloose this man, and set him free."

His voice has pierced the stifling dark
Of the tomb that sealed me in,
Spoke His life into my death,
Raised me up to live again.

Like Lazarus I have come forth,
Released from death's cold, icy grasp,
Called to walk in risen life
And free to be with Christ at last.

And if He seems to have delayed
In things that I've asked Him to do,
It is because He is the King
And knoweth just what He shall do.

His timing's best, much better far,
Than all my little plans and schemes;
He has for me a risen life
Far beyond my fondest dreams.